Public Policy

  • July 16, 2026

    DHS Allows Broader Test For Public Charge Findings

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday finalized a regulation that will give immigration officers more discretion to scrutinize immigration applications to determine if someone is inadmissible for being likely to rely on government benefits.

  • July 16, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Asked Not To Shift Moderna Vax Patent Case To Gov't

    Drugmakers like Novartis, former federal judges, a startup group and others have urged the Federal Circuit to reject calls to shift liability in a COVID-19 vaccine patent suit against Moderna to the federal government, saying that doing so would undermine patent rights.

  • July 16, 2026

    NJ Justices Clarify FCA Amendment In Reviving Bank Suit

    The New Jersey Supreme Court on Thursday revived whistleblower claims accusing Bank of America, Wells Fargo and other financial giants of fraud in the setting of interest rates on certain municipal bonds, saying that a lower court improperly blocked the attorney general from exercising authority in the litigation.

  • July 16, 2026

    Feds Tell 11th Circ. It Can't Hear BP Offshore Drilling Case

    The federal government has told the Eleventh Circuit it doesn't have jurisdiction to hear an appeal from conservation groups challenging the Trump administration's approval of BP PLC's Kaskida offshore oil and gas drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico.

  • July 16, 2026

    Texas Judge Warns BNSF, Unions Against Tactical Litigation

    A Texas federal judge had stern words for both BNSF Railway Co. and two unions that are tangled in a labor dispute with the company, saying in a Thursday hearing that federal district courts do not exist to "provide leverage" in union negotiations.

  • July 16, 2026

    Calif. Says AT&T Mustn't Make Move From Copper 'Disorderly'

    The California Public Utilities Commission has told AT&T that it's not pleased to hear that the cost of certain copper services has gone up "exponentially" as the state and the mobile behemoth duke it out in federal court and at the Federal Communications Commission over AT&T's desire to end legacy copper service.

  • July 16, 2026

    Dish Freed From 5G Network Commitment

    A D.C. federal judge has signed off on the U.S. Department of Justice's request that Dish be freed from its commitment to build and run a nationwide 5G network following its sale of $40 billion worth of spectrum licenses to AT&T and SpaceX.

  • July 16, 2026

    Tillis Might Back Blanche, As AG Pick Met Epstein Survivors

    Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday afternoon met with a group of survivors of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after retiring Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said his condition for supporting Blanche's appointment to the permanent position was for the nominee to speak to them face-to-face.

  • July 16, 2026

    Colorado County Housing Fee Upheld On Appeal

    A Colorado mountain community's housing impact fee methodology for residential homes survived a challenge from a Texas property developer attempting to overturn a roughly $250,000 permit fee for an 11,300-square-foot home after the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the fee complies with state law.

  • July 16, 2026

    Mich. Renews Enbridge Line 5 Permit, Tribes Vow Fight

    Michigan environmental regulators reissued key state permits for Enbridge Energy's proposed Great Lakes Tunnel project, allowing the company to continue pursuing approvals needed to replace the aging Line 5 pipelines beneath the Straits of Mackinac, while tribal leaders and environmental groups vowed to challenge the decision.

  • July 16, 2026

    SEC Proposes Making E-Delivery Default For Investor Docs

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday proposed a new rule that would allow electronic delivery to be the default method for sending investors disclosures, shareholder reports, proxy statements and other information, replacing a standard by which many documents are delivered in paper format unless the recipient chooses otherwise.

  • July 16, 2026

    Gov't To Revive Digital Equity Grants, Minus Race, Judge Says

    The Trump administration is going to reinstate the Digital Equity Act Competition Grant Program, minus the provisions that require the government to consider race, a D.C. federal judge has said in an opinion striking down part of the law as unconstitutional.

  • July 16, 2026

    Republicans Call For Warnings On Shows With Trans Content

    Almost 50 House Republicans have come together to let the Federal Communications Commission know they're in "strong support" of the agency's inquiry into whether it should update the TV rating system to warn people when a program may include transgender or nonbinary characters.

  • July 16, 2026

    Noncitizens Awaiting U Visas Not Entitled To Leave, Reenter

    The Eleventh Circuit said noncitizens who were victims of the Parkland high school shooting, and their families, are not entitled to leave and reenter the country while awaiting their special visas for assisting law enforcement in investigating the crime.

  • July 16, 2026

    DEA Judge Lays Out Next Steps Following End Of Pot Hearing

    A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration administrative law judge has laid out upcoming deadlines following the conclusion of hearings on a proposal to move marijuana to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.

  • July 16, 2026

    FERC Pushes Reliability Standards For Data Centers

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday pressed for the continued development of reliability standards for power-hungry data centers and other computational loads, and ordered two western grid operators to report on coordination efforts at the seams of their operations.

  • July 16, 2026

    5th Circ. Upholds Gun Ban Against Domestic Abuser

    The Fifth Circuit ruled that a man convicted of domestic violence cannot have his right to own a firearm restored despite the U.S. Supreme Court's expansion of gun rights in recent years, and that Congress did not exceed its constitutional authority by limiting his Second Amendment rights.

  • July 16, 2026

    AG Fines, Not Damages Allowed After RealPage Renter Deals

    The attorneys general of D.C., Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey and Washington can seek civil fines and injunctive relief against RealPage Inc. and landlords for fixing rent prices, but claims on behalf of their residents are barred by deals made with private plaintiffs, a Tennessee federal judge ruled Thursday.

  • July 16, 2026

    Calif. Tells 9th Circ. AI Disclosure Law Helps Consumers

    The state of California has pressed the Ninth Circuit to affirm a district court's decision denying xAI's injunction request against a state law requiring artificial intelligence companies to disclose what's included in training their models, saying the law advanced "an important governmental interest" in providing transparency to the public.

  • July 16, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Revives Commerce's Korean Steel Duty Findings

    The U.S. Department of Commerce can adjust its countervailable duty rate for a South Korean steel manufacturer by reconsidering earlier determinations, a Federal Circuit panel said Thursday, reversing a trade court ruling that made the department stick with its older findings.

  • July 16, 2026

    Wyden Urges Admin To Protect US From Canadian Spy Law

    Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., urged the Trump administration Thursday to protect national security and American citizens from a proposed backdoor surveillance bill from Canada.

  • July 16, 2026

    DHS Finalizes Fixed Admission Terms For Foreign Students

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security finalized a rule on Thursday limiting foreign students' admission for academic and exchange visitor programs and replacing a policy that had allowed them to stay in the U.S. for the duration of their studies.

  • July 16, 2026

    Reps. Dingell, Clarke Push Menopause Workplace Bias Bill

    A pair of House Democrats have introduced a bill that would require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for workers experiencing menopause-related symptoms, creating explicit federal workplace protections for a condition that supporters say is not directly addressed under current law.

  • July 16, 2026

    Senate Democrats Revive Bill To End Federal Marijuana Ban

    Senate Democrats on Thursday once again reintroduced a cannabis legalization bill that would remove the drug entirely from the ambit of the Controlled Substances Act and impose a tax-and-regulate scheme akin to what is currently in place for alcohol and tobacco.

  • July 16, 2026

    Swedbank To Pay $50M Fine In Panama Papers-Linked Case

    Swedbank AB and its New York branch have agreed to pay a $50 million civil penalty to the New York State Department of Financial Services to resolve claims that the bank failed to fully cooperate with department requests for information related to Swedbank's relationships with Mossack Fonseca, the law firm at the center of the 2016 Panama Papers leak.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 New Pay Transparency State Laws Raise Compliance Risks

    Author Photo

    Wage transparency measures taking effect in Delaware, Maine and New Jersey add a layer of complexity to the hiring landscape and highlight the need for employers to develop thorough compliance strategies while navigating the laws' ambiguities, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • New State AI Laws Create Dual Misrepresentation Risk

    Author Photo

    As artificial intelligence transparency laws are enacted across the country and the volume and specificity of compliance records increase, companies will be required to speak more often, more precisely and to more audiences about the same systems, compounding the risk of litigation, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Cow Horse Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Moving an unwilling 800-pound cow while riding a horse at high speed is exhilarating, a little unhinged and, at least for me, a surprisingly effective training ground for litigation — both demand focus, preparation over rigid planning and the willingness to act despite fear, says Ashley Zitrin at Glenn Agre.

  • Unpacking The Take It Down Act's Compliance Ambiguities

    Author Photo

    The Federal Trade Commission’s recent guidance concerning the Take It Down Act suggests that covered platforms should build removal systems immediately and prioritize compliance, but until courts or regulators provide additional clarity, companies will be navigating a statutory framework that is urgent and uncertain, says Laura-Kate Bernstein at ZwillGen.

  • Protecting AI-Driven Innovation In Life Sciences IP

    Author Photo

    Recent developments, including the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's evolving inventorship standards, and the impact of artificial intelligence on the "person of ordinary skill in the art" standard demand that life sciences companies elevate AI patent strategy to a top priority, says Sandra Haberny at Quinn Emanuel.

  • NY's UCC Updates Spell Change In Digital Asset Lending

    Author Photo

    Given the state’s role as a preferred jurisdiction for financing transactions, New York’s recent enactment of Uniform Commercial Code amendments, which establish control as a central concept for determining who has rights to a digital asset, will encourage nationwide growth toward a more technology-neutral approach to secured transactions, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • How Trump's Nuclear EO Has Transformed The NRC

    Author Photo

    In the year since President Donald Trump issued Executive Order No. 14300, directing sweeping reforms of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the agency has revised key oversight programs and proposed major rulemakings and new licensing frameworks — but the NRC must continue to center transparency and trust as key values, says Brooke Clark at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    Agentic AI And Securities Law: Steps Congress Should Take

    Author Photo

    Agentic artificial intelligence technology doesn't fit comfortably into the existing securities regulatory landscape, so Congress should avoid repeating the mistakes that led to the legal uncertainty crypto companies and investors have faced over the past decade-plus by providing a legislative framework before AI fully matures, says Joseph A. Hall at Davis Polk.

  • Weighing Trade-Offs Of SEC's Semiannual Reporting Proposal

    Author Photo

    Though public companies could benefit from a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposal that would allow them to file earnings reports just twice a year, widespread adoption could also increase market volatility, complicate capital raising and fragment disclosure standards to the detriment of issuers and investors, say attorneys at Seward & Kissel.

  • High Court's Hikma Decision Reshapes 'Skinny Label' Suits

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Hikma v. Amarin marks a significant victory for generic drug manufacturers, but rather than putting an end to so-called skinny label inducement claims, it narrows and refocuses them, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • Virginia's Cannabis Retail Veto Leaves Industry In Legal Limbo

    Author Photo

    Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger's recent veto of legislation that would have established a regulated retail cannabis framework halts momentum built by the General Assembly, but it also sends important signals about what a future regulatory framework must address to survive, says Charles Slemp at Cozen.

  • Opinion

    At High Court, Oil Cos.' Suncor Preemption Claims Fall Short

    Author Photo

    In Suncor Energy v. Boulder County, pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, oil and gas companies argue that municipalities' climate deception claims are equivalent to emissions standards for their industry — but the suit is ultimately incapable of imposing such standards, say Thomas McGarity at the University of Texas School of Law and James Goodwin at the Center for Progressive Reform.

  • What Colorado AI Law's Major Rewrite Means For Employers

    Author Photo

    Colorado's landmark law regulating employers' use of artificial intelligence tools was recently replaced with a narrower regime that eliminates many burdensome obligations, but still imposes a host of requirements focused on transparency and accountability, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Operational AI Washing: The Next Frontier Of Fiduciary Risk

    Author Photo

    While there are still no final Delaware decisions applying Caremark specifically to artificial intelligence governance failures, previous case law provides a blueprint, so the question for boards is whether their governance architectures will satisfy Caremark when the first cases are decided, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • A Look At The Court's Next Steps In Live Nation Antitrust Case

    Author Photo

    Following a recent jury verdict that Live Nation and Ticketmaster operated as a monopoly to fix ticket prices, a New York federal court stands to weigh Live Nation's bid for a new trial, approve the U.S. Department of Justice's March settlement with the defendants, and impose remedies that include full structural separation, say attorneys at Crowell.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Public Policy archive.